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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Maternity leave

The theme for the gallery this week is 'Friendship'. I couldn't decide what to do so here I go...

This time last year I was on maternity leave…

Since the sun has started shining and the days have got longer, I find myself thinking back to last year so much. I miss it so much! There are many reasons why I miss it including:

1. Not having to get up for work

2. Not having to get up and get ready for work

3. Not having to get up for work, get ready for work and get Thomas ready for nursery

4. Planning days around where to walk to, where to have coffee, which cake to try…

There are, however, two main reasons I miss it.

I found myself a great group of first time mothers to share the whole experience with. We met through yoga, breastfeeding workshops, NCT, the internet, and came together and spent one summer experiencing the world as new mothers. There was always someone to listen, someone to care, and someone to moan to. We came from all walks of life but none of that mattered because we were all learning the same thing, how to be parents. Pregnancy, labour and birth became a distant memory as the summer months approached (an added bonus from having Christmas babies!). We spent our days in the sunshine, or in the rain, pushing our prams around Glasgow’s Southside, from one park to the next. We learnt about each other as well as about motherhood and our friendships grew.

Come September I went back to work. Thomas thrived at nursery but I was only part-time to begin with so I still got to meet up with my mummy friends. Then they all started going back to work, one by one our days off altered, less people were around, and the group got smaller. Now we only catch up occasionally – like this weekend at the Southside festival in QueensPark. We laughed, we chatted and we reminisced about last summer. These women will always be part of my heart, because they shared a huge part of my life, my journey to becoming a mother. Learning that it was OK to sometimes make mistakes, to sometimes feel sad, to sometimes be so happy your heart could burst. I am proud and privileged to call them my friends.

Secondly – Thomas. I miss him. I miss the dynamics of me and him against the world. He is my friend.

Hello there! Nice to "meet" you! Isn't the Gallery great for finding new blogs?! Anyway I love your pictures, and I especially love that Thomas is your friend. I think I need to think about my girls as my friends a bit more often... So thank you for inspiring me. Good luck with the doula-ing too. I had a post-natal doula after my twins (planned cs on medical advice which I am quite happy with, although I'd had a completely natural delivery with my first) and she was absolutely fabulous. I can't recommend doulas highly enough! So go you!

Lovely pictures, I can't imagine how hard it must be to have to go back to work, and leave the baby behind. I had that network when I moved to London it was great we're all still very good friends now 3 years on!

Lovely memories (I know I commented on this one before but have to comment again!). I have to say, I have total admiration for women that work outside the home. To my mind it is a huge achievement in organisation, something I just couldn't manage at the moment (though I have recently started working part time from home). Lovely to look back though:) Jen